DPP, TSU join Constitution 133 Alliance’s recall bid

By Chris Wang / Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union have teamed up with the Constitution 133 Alliance for its recall campaign against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), DPP officials said yesterday.

Constitution 133 Alliance, an alliance of civil groups dedicated to the recall of lawmakers they view as incompetent — especially those who prioritize partisan interests over those of the public — named itself in reference to Article 133 of the Constitution, which states that “a person elected may be recalled by their constituency.”

“The three sides have reached a tentative decision on the division of labor for the petition, with the DPP in charge of half of the required petitions, and the TSU and the alliance with 25 percent each,” said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of the DPP’s New Taipei City (新北市) chapter, on the sidelines of a party meeting.

Wu, of New Taipei City’s first electoral district, has been dubbed by media as a member of “[President] Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) corps.”

Recalling Wu, who is deemed by the alliance as incompetent for his consistent alignment with Ma despite public opinion, would first require the signatures of at least 2 percent of the total electorate in Wu’s district to propose the bid and the joint petition from another 13 percent of the total voters for the proposal to be legitimate.

After that, the recall proposal would require the support of at least one-half of the eligible voters in the constituency at the time of the original election.

The team hoped to collect the required signatures before the new legislative session begins on Sept. 17, but would likely withhold the submission until follow-up preparation is done because they have to collect another 13 percent within one month, Lo said.

The DPP would focus on securing signatures for now, said Ho Po-wen (何博文), director of the DPP’s Democracy Institute, adding that the party is launching a promotional campaign in the district for the signature drive.